In certain sporting events, such as swimming, athletes traverse the same course multiple times during a single workout. As a result, these athletes must maintain a count of the number of laps completed. Mentally maintaining the lap count is burdensome in that the athlete may lose track of the number of laps or may, for psychological reasons, not want to count each lap. Furthermore, the athlete may lose track of the lap count and thereby change his or her workout. This is especially true if the athlete is tired or is concentrating on his or her stroke.
Still further, many recreational swimmers swim a great number of laps using the same stroke, such as crawl, breaststroke or backstroke. Often this routine becomes boring.
Therefore, some swimmers may want some means to entertain themselves as they work out. It would be beneficial if this same means could keep track of the swimmer's lap count whereby the swimmer could concentrate on either his or here stroke or on the entertainment.
Various lap counting systems have been developed in the art. However, none of these systems satisfies all of the above-mentioned requirements. For example, some lap counting systems employ a touch pad mounted on the end of the pool which is connected to a lap display system. As the swimmer touches the touch pad, the lap count changes. This type of lap counting system has several drawbacks. For example, the pads are difficult to mount on the pool and are easily dislodged. The pads may also be expensive, and must be touched by the swimmer in a certain manner in order to register the touch. Often, lap swimmers share a lane. If the lane-mate accidentally touches the touch pad, the count will be thrown off.
Still further, the art also includes proposals for radios that can be worn by a swimmer. While these devices can provide entertainment, they also have a drawback in that they are often bulky, and may become loose or dislodged during use. Therefore, the swimmer's attention is diverted, thus vitiating the entertainment value of the device. Since the swimmer must concentrate on counting laps, the entertainment value of the device is further vitiated.
Therefore, there is a need for a means for entertaining a swimmer and counting the swimmer's laps as he or she works out but, which does not distract the swimmer's attention from the entertainment.